Learn Hardcore Greek: Το μάθημα σήμερα ήταν λίγο δύσκολο, αλλά το κατάλαβα. - Today the lesson was a bit difficult, but I understood it.

Το = the (neuter singular definite article)
μάθημα = lesson / class (neuter noun)
σήμερα = today
ήταν = was (past of είμαι = to be)
λίγο = a little / a bit
δύσκολο = difficult (neuter singular adjective)
αλλά = but
το = it (direct object pronoun, neuter)
κατάλαβα = I understood (past tense of καταλαβαίνω = to understand)

Structure (very close to English):

Το μάθημα σήμερα → The lesson today (subject phrase)
ήταν λίγο δύσκολο → was a bit difficult (verb + complement)
αλλά → but (linking word)
το κατάλαβα → I understood it (pronoun + verb)

Why is it το μάθημα and not something else? What does το show?

Μάθημα (lesson) is a neuter noun in Greek.

Nominative singular forms of “the” are:
- ο for masculine (e.g. ο φίλος = the friend (m))
- η for feminine (e.g. η πόρτα = the door)
- το for neuter (e.g. το μάθημα = the lesson)

So το tells you:

the noun is neuter, singular, and definite (a specific lesson, not just “a lesson”).
the subject of ήταν (was) is το μάθημα.

Why is δύσκολο in the neuter form, and how does agreement work here?

In Greek, adjectives agree with the noun they describe in:

gender (masculine / feminine / neuter),
number (singular / plural),
case (nominative, accusative, etc.).

Here:

Noun: το μάθημα (neuter, singular, nominative).
Adjective: δύσκολο is neuter, singular, nominative.

So we say:

το δύσκολο μάθημα = the difficult lesson
or, as in this sentence, Το μάθημα … ήταν δύσκολο.

If the noun were feminine, you’d see a different form:

η άσκηση ήταν δύσκολη (the exercise was difficult – feminine). For masculine:
ο διάλογος ήταν δύσκολος (the dialogue was difficult – masculine).

Why is σήμερα placed after μάθημα? Could I put σήμερα in a different place?

Yes, σήμερα is quite flexible in position. You can say:

Το μάθημα σήμερα ήταν λίγο δύσκολο…
Σήμερα το μάθημα ήταν λίγο δύσκολο…
Το μάθημα ήταν λίγο δύσκολο σήμερα…

All are grammatically correct and natural.

Subtle differences:

Σήμερα το μάθημα… emphasizes “today” first.
Το μάθημα σήμερα… sounds like “the lesson today” as a unit.
…δύσκολο σήμερα can add a slight emphasis that today it happened to be difficult.

Greek word order is more flexible than English because endings and articles show the grammatical roles. Here, σήμερα is an adverb of time and can move around easily without changing the core meaning.

Why is it λίγο δύσκολο and not something like λίγη δύσκολη? What exactly is λίγο doing here?

Λίγο here is an adverb meaning a little / a bit, modifying the adjective δύσκολο.

λίγο δύσκολο = a bit difficult, a little difficult

We are not describing a quantity of “difficulty” as a noun; we are qualifying the adjective δύσκολο. That’s why we use the adverb form λίγο, not a gendered adjective like λίγη.

Compare:

Είχε λίγη δυσκολία. = He/She/It had a bit of difficulty.
- Here λίγη is feminine, agreeing with δυσκολία (difficulty, feminine noun).
Ήταν λίγο δύσκολο. = It was a bit difficult.
- Here λίγο is an adverb modifying δύσκολο.

What is ήταν exactly, and how is it formed?

Ήταν is the past tense (imperfective past form) of the verb “to be” = είμαι.

Basic present forms (singular):

είμαι = I am
είσαι = you are
είναι = he/she/it is

Past forms (imperfect):

ήμουν(α) = I was
ήσουν(α) = you were
ήταν(ε) = he/she/it was, they were

In everyday speech, ήταν is used often for both singular “he/she/it was” and plural “they were”. In your sentence:

Το μάθημα … ήταν λίγο δύσκολο
→ The lesson … was a bit difficult.

You might see ήτανε instead of ήταν in spoken or informal Greek; it’s the same word, just a variant.

Why is there a comma before αλλά? Is αλλά the normal word for “but”?

Yes, αλλά is the standard conjunction meaning but.

You normally put a comma before αλλά when it connects two clauses:
- …ήταν λίγο δύσκολο, αλλά το κατάλαβα.
- It was a bit difficult, but I understood it.

Other words for but/however include:

όμως – more like however / though. Position is more flexible:
- Ήταν λίγο δύσκολο, όμως το κατάλαβα.
- Όμως, το κατάλαβα.

But αλλά is the straightforward equivalent to but in this kind of sentence.

Why is there another το before κατάλαβα? Isn’t το just “the”?

Here, το is not the article “the”, but a direct object pronoun meaning “it”.

το μάθημα → the lesson (article + noun)
το κατάλαβα → I understood it (object pronoun + verb)

So:

Το μάθημα σήμερα ήταν λίγο δύσκολο, αλλά το κατάλαβα.
→ literally: The lesson today was a bit difficult, but it I-understood.

In Greek, unstressed object pronouns (called clitics) usually go before the verb in simple statements:

Το κατάλαβα. = I understood it.
Δεν το κατάλαβα. = I didn’t understand it.
Το είδα. = I saw it.

Could I say Κατάλαβα το μάθημα instead of το κατάλαβα? What’s the difference?

Yes, Κατάλαβα το μάθημα is correct and natural. The difference is:

Κατάλαβα το μάθημα.
→ “I understood the lesson.”
The object is named again.
Το κατάλαβα.
→ “I understood it.”
The object is a pronoun referring back to something already known:
- Here, it clearly refers to το μάθημα from the first clause.

In your full sentence, repeating το μάθημα would sound heavier and more repetitive:

Το μάθημα σήμερα ήταν λίγο δύσκολο, αλλά κατάλαβα το μάθημα.
This is grammatical, but stylistically weaker. Using το as a pronoun is more natural.

What tense is κατάλαβα, and how is it different from καταλαβαίνω or έχω καταλάβει?

Κατάλαβα is the aorist past of καταλαβαίνω (to understand).

καταλαβαίνω = I understand / I am understanding (present)
κατάλαβα = I understood (aorist past – a single, completed event)
έχω καταλάβει = I have understood (present perfect – result still relevant)

In this sentence:

το κατάλαβα focuses on the completed action in the past:
I (did) understand it (in the end).

If you said:

Το έχω καταλάβει.
→ I have understood it / I get it now. (Emphasizes the current state of having understood.)

How do you pronounce this sentence, and where is the stress in each word?

Stressed syllables in capital letters (approximate):

Το → to (single syllable, light)
μάθημα → MÁ-thi-ma
σήμερα → SÍ-me-ra
ήταν → Í-tan
λίγο → LÍ-go
δύσκολο → DÍ-sko-lo
αλλά → a-LÁ
το → to
κατάλαβα → ka-TÁ-la-va

Full sentence (rough guide):
TO MÁ-thi-ma SÍ-me-ra Í-tan LÍ-go DÍ-sko-lo, a-LÁ to ka-TÁ-la-va.

Remember:

Greek is very regular with stress: each word has one stressed syllable, marked in writing with an accent (ά, έ, ή, ί, ό, ύ, ώ).
Pronunciation is close to spelling, so once you know the sounds and where the stress is, reading is straightforward.